There is conventionally available a digital camera including a plurality of display devices such as an electronic viewfinder (EVF), a liquid crystal display (LCD), and the like.
In such a digital camera, generally, an EVF provided at a finder unit of the camera is used in image sensing process to perform framing while viewing a displayed moving picture (live display). After sensing an image, an LCD provided on the back of the camera is used to display a sensed image.
As an example of such a digital camera including a plurality of display devices, an image sensing apparatus (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-209125) has a designation switch for designating an EVF, LCD, or automatic selection as a display device for image display. As another example, a digital camera (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-177742) stores in advance a plurality of combinations of the kinds of images to be displayed and display devices which display the images determined on the basis of the contents of the images and a user can select a favorite one from the combinations by operating a changeover button.
As still another example, a digital camera has a review display function which displays a sensed image immediately after the image sensing process still in an image sensing mode in addition to playback mode of displaying a sensed image on a display device. The digital camera performs review display by operating a review button and makes it possible to easily check the composition, focus, exposure, and the like of the sensed image.
As still another example, a digital camera has the same arrangement as that of the above-mentioned camera and can be set in advance from a menu screen such that an LCD is preferentially used to perform review display for a sensed image. The digital camera uses an EVF in image sensing process and automatically changes over a display device to be used to the LCD upon operation of a review button to perform review display.
If the above-mentioned digital camera has no function of preferentially using an LCD, a display device for live display used in image sensing process performs review display subsequent to live display. That is, if an EVF is used in image sensing process, the EVF is also used in review display. An EVF generally has a smaller image display area, a smaller number of display pixels, and a lower display resolution than an LCD. Accordingly, it is difficult to strictly check the focus and the like of a sensed image if the image is displayed on the EVF. To perform review display using the LCD, the LCD must be used in image sensing process. In this case, the camera is often held unstably, and a camera shake is likely to occur. In an environment too bright to ensure the visibility of an LCD, like in sunlight, image sensing process itself may be difficult.
For this reason, to perform live display using the EVF and perform review display using the LCD, the following operation is performed. More specifically, the EVF is set as a display device to be used. After image sensing process, the review button is operated to perform review display on the EVF. During the review display, the display device for display is changed over from the EVF to the LCD.
In the above-mentioned arrangement, either one of the EVF and the LCD is set as the display device for image display. When review ends, and the process returns to live display, the LCD is still set. To resume image sensing process using the EVF, the display device needs to be changed over from the LCD selected in review to the EVF. This operation is troublesome.
The above-mentioned operation must be repeated every time after review display, and this greatly decreases the operability. During display device changeover operation, chances to release the shutter may be missed.
Assume that the digital camera which has the function of preferentially using the LCD is so set as to preferentially use the LCD to display a sensed image. To perform review display using the EVF due to the environment (e.g., an environment too bright to ensure the visibility of the LCD), change operation such as cancellation of a setting for preferentially using the LCD in the setup menu screen of the camera must be performed each time.
Even in digital cameras having the above-mentioned arrangements, a display device used in image sensing process is used to perform quick review display which automatically displays a sensed image after image sensing process without any operation of a review button.
The digital camera described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-177742 can select a combination only from the predetermined combinations. Since the user does not know on which display device which type of image is to be displayed in each combination until the changeover button is operated to display actual images, it may take long to select a combination or the user may not find a favorite one in the combinations.